Home Wreckers
Recap Ted is stunned when his mother and her long-time boyfriend Clint announce they are going to be married. At the reception, Ted is unable to grasp the fact that his mother is getting married a second time before he has even once, and when Clint begins singing a song, Ted leaves without giving his toast. The gang then doesn’t see him for nearly three days, after which Ted reveals that he has bought a house. The gang questions his decision, as the house is old and dilapidated, but Ted is convinced he’ll fix up the house once he starts a family. The group berates Ted for making this decision too early, seeing as he isn’t even married yet. Marshall tries to take the pressure off his friend by having the group play a game where they try to guess whether Marshall had been a kid or drunk during wild and stupid instances in his life (such as putting fireworks in the microwave). When an inspector arrives and begins rattling off the number of problems with the house, Ted finally agrees with the group, especially after the inspector is injured falling through the second floor. Dejected, Ted wonders if he will ever have the life he dreams of; Lily cheers him up by telling him to bash the house with a sledgehammer, and the whole group has fun smashing a wall with it. Meanwhile, Barney catches Robin crying during Clint’s song at the wedding, and takes every opportunity to mock her for it. Robin finally snaps and reveals it was in fact Barney who was crying, and that he offered to pay Robin to keep quiet and say she had been the one shedding tears. Barney explains he was jealous of Clint, revealing he had "shared a moment" with Ted's mother while dropping her off at the airport. He attempts to save face by claiming that he had agreed to say that he paid Robin to keep quiet, but it is revealed to be false. Ted goes to see his mother and Clint, and gives them the toast he had meant to give earlier. Later, Ted returns to the house, and finds Marshall cooking sausages on a grill in the back. Marshall knows Ted isn’t going to give up on the house, and Ted thanks him for sticking up for him. Future Ted then reveals the house does in fact become his future home, with shots showing the broken wall transform into one with a cabinet and lighted shelves, the very wall which Ted’s kids are sitting in front of. Continuity *Lily realizes that she may not have the body to birth an Eriksen child in . *Ted and his friends learn about his parents' divorce in . *During the wedding reception, Barney chases after "Ted's hot sister, Heather". Ted tries to keep Heather and Barney from hooking up in . *In Barney's story of how he and Ted's mother kissed, they are discussing the brooch Barney asks her about in Brunch, meaning it occurs shortly after the events of that episode. Barney first alludes to the "awkward moment in reserve parking" in Little Minnesota. Future References (Contains Spoilers) *Ted's Westchester house is introduced, which the gang visit and reference several times, including in , , and . Gallery HM 05.jpg HM 04.jpg HM 03.jpg HM 02.jpg HM 01.jpg Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *As revealed in Barney didn't know how to drive until 2007 but here he was driving Ted's mom to the airport in 2006. ** It's never said that Barney didn't learn to drive after this. The flashback in Arrivederci, Fiero happens at the Transit strike in December 2005, 10 months before this flashback. It's plausible that he learned to drive in between. * When Ted first hits the wall with the sledgehammer, the hole is small. In the next shot, the hole has become bigger. Allusions and Outside References *Barney mentions the Blair Witch as the seller of the house, referencing the house in the final scene of said movie. *Barney calls Ted's mother a cougar. When Robin reminds him that he said that a cougar cannot be over 50, Barney calls her a Mellencamp, in reference to singer John "Cougar" Mellencamp. Music *Ode to Virginia - Clint * - * - Other Notes Guests *Cristine Rose - Virginia Mosby * - Clint * - Inspector *Suzie Plakson - Judy Eriksen *Cinda Adams - Wedding Guest #3 *Thomas Crawford - Wedding Guest #1 *Kathleen M. Darcy - Wedding Guest #2 *Jim Grollman - Uncle Larry *Marianne Muellerleile - Meredith *Linda Porter - Muriel *Koby Rouviere - 10 Year Old Marshall Reception * Donna Bowman of the gave the episode a B+. She said the episode exposed a different angle on Ted's love story by showing where his future family would live. She noted the execution of Marshall's Drunk or Kid game and Barney's exaggerated recollections were a bit off. http://www.avclub.com/articles/home-wrecker,40281/ * Cindy McClellan of also gave the episode a B+ score, citing the implausibility of having a real-estate inspector study the house when Ted's architecture skills can determine the flaws as well. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/home_wreckers_1.php * Amanda Sloane Murray of gave the episode 8.3 out of 10. http://tv.ign.com/articles/108/1084704p1.html * The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9.5 out of 10 stars. "...his kids have been in the living room all the time!" References External Links * * * Category:Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Wedding episodes